Remember
by InuXKags
Summary: I miss him. Every day, I miss him with all my heart. He was my first friend, and he passed away, leaving me all by myself. It's been over a decade now since his death. And, to this day, I still remember his name.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.**

**Author's Note: I have been working really hard on this story for three days now. I really hope that you guys will like it. It was actually inspired by one of my earliest stories, Charms Of A Friendship Bracelet. It's not a very good chapter, but hey it's the beginning. Once again, everybody please vote on my poll! Whichever idea gets the most votes will be started on ASAP. Also, review!**

**When You're Gone**

Sometimes, I cry myself to sleep at night. No, scratch that. _Every_ night, I cry myself to sleep. Memories that I've greatly cherished still run through my mind as I continue to think about him.

He was my best friend, the only one who seemed to care about me, despite my being of an orphan. He was also a child who's been parentless, so he knew all about the emotional rollercoaster that I went through even at the mention of the word 'grandma'.

Day and night, he stood by my side, protecting me from danger, comforting me in my time of need, making me laugh whenever I was moody.

Many of the villagers would've thought that he was an abusive, aggressive monster like all of the other demons, but I was familiar with the real him. The soft side of him that cared for me as if I was his own daughter. Of course, we were completely different; He was a half demon and I was a human.

Before I met him, I was a reserved type of girl. I was the girl who you'd see run away from trouble or any encounters with strangers. I was the girl who never got involved with anything that looked dangerous. I was the girl who never stood up for herself. He changed all that.

Life was dreary before I met him. Due to my danger-avoiding habits, nothing exhilarating or exciting happened to me. Then, one day, I had bumped into fatal trouble.

_I was shuffling down a crowded street in a village full of unknown strangers in kimonos and straw hats. I was famished, so hungry that I reached the embarrassing point of begging. Of course, nobody cared about a homeless child, especially field workers. They were too busy shoveling and digging to even notice a human orphan. A demon, on the other hand . . ._

_The screams of the villagers broke me out of my train of thought. I paused in the middle of a bridge, unsure of what all the fuss was about. I just stood there like an idiot on the wooden bridge high above the water while the villagers trampled over the plywood. After a few seconds of people panicking, I got my answer from their frightful screams._

"_Demon!" they chanted repetitively._

_The word ran through my mind. I comprehended its meaning. What do demons usually do to humans to make them scream so much? Oh, yes, that's right. Kill them. Before the I could turn to run, a snake demon slithered in front of me, eyeing me like a hungry man would to a steak dinner. _

"_Going sssomewhere?" it hissed at me. Its paper thin tongue flickered in and out of its scaly mouth, the beady yellow eyes watching me unblinkingly._

_I was so petrified by its bloodcurdling gaze that I couldn't move a muscle, let alone scream. I examined the snake as it lined itself up to strike at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the village men edging anxiously toward the monster, wooden spears in hand. The snake's knife-like fangs gleamed brightly in the sunlight as he struck his menacing warning pose to the human men._

_It looked as if the aftermath occurred in slow motion. The battle cry of a man echoed throughout the deserted street followed by the sickening sound of cutting._

_I forced myself to focus on what was going on._

_In midair was a man, slashing at the snake demon with his sharp claws. The guy landed gracefully on his bare feet as body parts of the demon fell on the dusty dirt with loud thumps._

_I gazed up at my rescuer, obviously speechless. I nearly died, and here I was, staring up at my savior. That's when I realized that the guy who saved me was also a demon. At least, that's what I thought, judging from his fangs, claws, and puppy dog ears._

"_Are you okay?" he asked me, reaching his hand down to help me up._

_I crawled away from his reach and hid behind a nearby fruit cart, never taking my eyes off him. I wasn't trusting a demon to hold my hand. No way, Jose!_

_He sighed quietly, a bit frustrated with my actions. "Okay, I just saved your life, and you thank me by evading me and staring," he stated in an annoyed manner. He crossed his arms over his brawny red-clad chest._

_In my mind, I deliberated that this man was rude and selfish. Who cares if I'm five years old? I knew a mean person when I saw one. And the guy with the attitude in front of me was obviously one of them._

"_Look, if you don't want me to help you," he said, "Then go run to your parents."_

_That comment hurt me. Pierced me right through my young heart._

"_I don't have any," I mumbled, looking down to conceal my tears._

"_What do you mean by that?" he gently inquired. "Where are your parents?"_

"_I don't know."_

_They sacrificed their lives for mine._

After that encounter, we got closer and became friends. He was my first friend. And the funny thing was that he was twelve years older than me. There was a huge age difference between us, yet we somehow managed to understand each other.

However, I never knew the meaning of 'damn' until Sango told me. She looked mad when I asked her, but oh well. Well, you know what they say. Curiosity killed the cat. Except I'm not a cat. And I didn't get killed; I got grounded.

Oh, I almost forgot all about Sango and Miroku. They were his best friends, engaged when I first met them. He introduced them to me a few days after he saved me. They were nice and also treated me like their daughter, especially Sango, considering she wanted her first child to be a girl.

I'll never forget him though.

Everything I look at reminds me of him. Rocks, water, huts, fire, trees. But there's only one tree that is most distinctive compared to all of the other tall saplings. The Goshinboku, also known as the Sacred Tree or the Tree Of Ages. And, true to its name, there he is, bound to the woody trunk by an arrow, looking exactly the same as he had when he was sealed.

I was only the innocent age of six when he supposedly fell into an enchanted sleep. Although I was very young indeed, every day he and I spent together is yet fresh in my mind. He was eighteen when he "passed away", leaving me all by myself.

Sango and Miroku took me into their home, since my old home was in his arms. The days slowly ticked by, adding more pain to my depression. My adoptive parents watched me cry, and sometimes _they_ even cried. I mourned over the loss of my best friend every day.

All of this happened because of this nasty lady he called his lover. On the outside, she was a beautiful, gentle priestess; But, inside, she was a two-timing, heartbreaking traitor. I couldn't believe that he fell in love with _that_.

They say that assumptions are usually mistaken. Well, mine was right. When I first saw her, I presumed that she was a mean witch. And will you look at that? I was right.

She betrayed him. Then, she ran away from the scene, trying to be all sneaky and crap like that, but I saw the whole thing. And I wasn't going to let her look innocent. I told the whole village about what I saw.

I miss him. Every day, I miss him with all my heart.

Occasionally, I'd visit his immobile body pinned to the Tree Of Ages. It helped a little. Staring at his passive expression on his face triggered the serene side of me.

And, to this day, I still remember his name.

Inuyasha.


End file.
